2009.03.19 19:00 - PaB retreat ideas

The Guardian for this meeting was Sylectra Darwin. The comments are by Sylectra Darwin.

stevenaia Michinaga: evening Pila
Pila Mulligan: hi Steve
stevenaia Michinaga: where is sylectra?
Pila Mulligan: howzit?
Pila Mulligan: unknown :)
stevenaia Michinaga: buzy for a change
Pila Mulligan: me too, taking a work break here
Pila Mulligan: Pema wants to form a small committee to explore te idea of building a retreat
Pila Mulligan: I urged that you be included (hopefully not to your consternation) and he agreed
stevenaia Michinaga: small, only if it involves a site visit
Pila Mulligan: :) of course
Pila Mulligan: would you mind ?
stevenaia Michinaga: not at all,, hell, you've done all the hard work
stevenaia Michinaga: like moving next door
Pila Mulligan: like opening the jungle :)
Pila Mulligan: I could not believe how dense this is
Pila Mulligan: the pristine forest is a beautiful one in terms of tree spacing
stevenaia Michinaga: can you bring the ocean in?
Pila Mulligan: the invasive stuff fills every nook and cranny
Pila Mulligan: it is 2300' above sea level
stevenaia Michinaga: hmmm
Pila Mulligan: so i hope not :)
stevenaia Michinaga: hello sylectra
Pila Mulligan: hi Sylectra
stevenaia Michinaga: have you been out in the sun to long?
Sylectra Darwin: Sorry I'm late!
Sylectra Darwin: why?
stevenaia Michinaga: your skin looks silvery

Steven was referring to a new skin I had bought for my avatar, which was almost pitch black with bright red neon symbols on the face, arms, legs, torso and back.

Pila Mulligan: tattoos maybe :)
stevenaia Michinaga: all over your legs and arms?
Sylectra Darwin: hmmm, trying to remember what skin I was playing with a while ago
Sylectra Darwin: it's an outfit!
Sylectra Darwin: I've been playing with fashion.
stevenaia Michinaga: so Pila, what were the ideas for this Camp Being?
Sylectra Darwin: do tell...
Pila Mulligan: before you guys arrived I was sitting here wondering what it wold take to replicate a place like this SL pavillion in RL :)
stevenaia Michinaga: you looking for a cloistered monastic sort of thing
Pila Mulligan: there are some very nice retreat centers around the area
stevenaia Michinaga: yes, I saw some on the web
Pila Mulligan: Wood Valley is a Buddhist temple that has been visited *twice* by the Dalai Lama
Pila Mulligan: but that is a big undertaking in terms of time and cost
stevenaia Michinaga: until we have splinter groups of PaB, we should be fine being non-religious
Pila Mulligan: yes indeed :)
Pila Mulligan: no religion wihtout conflict :)
stevenaia Michinaga: nods
Pila Mulligan: I think the first step is to consider what we want to do with an RL place
stevenaia Michinaga: yes, an "architectural program" as we call it in the field
stevenaia Michinaga: and how to sustain it on the back end
Pila Mulligan: ... and realisticaly, it needs not to be predetermined that Hawaii is the predetermined place for it
Pila Mulligan: redundant, but you ge thte idea
stevenaia Michinaga: whatever is decided, yes a place needs to fixed somewhere
stevenaia Michinaga: but the contents can be looked at early one w/o a location
stevenaia Michinaga: on
Pila Mulligan: that's why i would start with how it would be used -- what types of meetings, how often, etc
stevenaia Michinaga: there are many contemplative places in the world, perhaps purchasing an existing one to start
Pila Mulligan: see, there's an option
Pila Mulligan: not only how and how often, but how many too
stevenaia Michinaga: something with room to have it become our own
Pila Mulligan: in terms of meetings, how many would attend, what would be the expectations for duration and lodging
Sylectra Darwin: Let's definitely go to Hawaii, and our dear friend Pila can play host. :)
Pila Mulligan: I'm happy to do so Sylectra
Pila Mulligan: but would it impact the ability of people to attend?
stevenaia Michinaga: the diverity of the group will make that a dificult one
Pila Mulligan: yes it is -- and geographic diversity not the least
Sylectra Darwin: The diversity of the group is both a great strength and a great hindrance
Pila Mulligan: Iceland may be the most central location :)
stevenaia Michinaga: and financial diversity
Pila Mulligan: yes, $ also
Pila Mulligan: so then there is the grants quesation
stevenaia Michinaga: or the north pole, it could be sunny and warm there soon
Sylectra Darwin: We need grants!
Pila Mulligan: :) I hope not
Pila Mulligan: yes, if we have a plan that attracts funding it affects all the ideas
stevenaia Michinaga: grants, like how do you move 50 people from around the world to one spot for some time
Pila Mulligan: yes, in part
Pila Mulligan: there has been talk of one or several people residing there, as well
Pila Mulligan: so we have that aspect of a monastic idea as well
Pila Mulligan: or non-monastic, depending
stevenaia Michinaga: grins
Pila Mulligan: but I'm hoping we can let the idea float around for a few months in small discussions and by August have some firm thoughts
stevenaia Michinaga: Santa Cruz may be quite the hit, I've been there and love the area
Sylectra Darwin: brb...need to relog
stevenaia Michinaga: and work on that skin
Pila Mulligan: yep, and as you will recognize Steve, part of the context is the zoning and permitting regime of the place
Pila Mulligan: Hawaii is not the best there, by far
Pila Mulligan: wb Sylectra
stevenaia Michinaga: there is Texas, no zoning there :)
Pila Mulligan: really?
stevenaia Michinaga: Houston, for instance, I believe, but that may have changed, used to be like that
Pila Mulligan: well, there's a world full of options ot consider :)
Pila Mulligan: Malta maybe :)
stevenaia Michinaga: yes, preference of the group may lead to a starting place
Pila Mulligan: but, at the risk of sounding pedantic, geeting a feel for the expected use is the first step, I'm sure
stevenaia Michinaga: or, if need be, a small group should travel the world looking
Pila Mulligan: :)
Pila Mulligan: it may not be a Field of Dreams 'build it and they will come'  situation
stevenaia Michinaga: yes
Pila Mulligan: welcome back -- the new fashion has many pixels?
stevenaia Michinaga: perhap a wiki or google group location to amass the thoughts of the group an to distill them
stevenaia Michinaga: take 9 seconds and visualize that it should be, write it down and send it to PaB group
Pila Mulligan: :) nice idea
stevenaia Michinaga: in a few months we shold have plenty to consider
Pila Mulligan: yes, I was just thinking about the term amass
stevenaia Michinaga: a repository of the groups thughts
Pila Mulligan: and also, as we are doing, have some small chats about the ideas
stevenaia Michinaga: yes, organize them in to distinct and overlapping categories
stevenaia Michinaga: yes
Pila Mulligan: we need a consensus :)
Pila Mulligan: excuse me please -- phone call
stevenaia Michinaga: actually Doug Sosa is involved in organizing this type of information
stevenaia Michinaga: kk
stevenaia Michinaga: he has a group in Stanford that is involved in commumications, I had a web site
stevenaia Michinaga: I'll pass it on when I find it
stevenaia Michinaga: software tools
Pila Mulligan: back
stevenaia Michinaga: wb
Pila Mulligan: thanks
Pila Mulligan: a cleint called :)
Pila Mulligan: I write stuff for lawyers, Sylectra
stevenaia Michinaga: lucky you, tell them to meet you here next time
Pila Mulligan: :)
Pila Mulligan: i did suggest it to this guy, in particular
Pila Mulligan: he went to diviinity school before law school
stevenaia Michinaga: that's an interesting transition
Pila Mulligan: yep
Pila Mulligan: I've worked with a couple of lawyers from that path
Pila Mulligan: much more conscious than your average schmo
Pila Mulligan: this particular lawyer had actually epxressed an interest in buying the vacant lot
Pila Mulligan: what type of work do you do Sylectra?
Sylectra Darwin: i am a Search Engine Optimization specialist with LexisNexis.
Pila Mulligan: cool, for a law firm, or generally?
Sylectra Darwin: actually 20 law firm web sites are assigned to me as my client load.
Pila Mulligan: aha
stevenaia Michinaga: lucky you 20 lawyer clients
Pila Mulligan: oh yes, of course
Pila Mulligan: lexis is well known
Pila Mulligan: I use Westlaw however :)
Pila Mulligan: they each have their strengths
stevenaia Michinaga: let me email doug and see what thought he might have on our accumulated knowledge and how to structure it and access it by the group, a good starting point
Pila Mulligan: yep, sounds like it Steve
stevenaia Michinaga: at least related to this aspect
Pila Mulligan: I wonder how accurately we can refine the projected use ideas -- like how many people would actually come to retreats
stevenaia Michinaga: perhaps by casting lots a preferred location will emerge
Pila Mulligan: I think the location will follow the use plans
stevenaia Michinaga: or... we can work on astral projection, cut down on travel costs
Pila Mulligan: yes, it would be cheaper :)
Pila Mulligan: for example, suppose the idea ws to have on-going informal sessions, and one or two group retreats a year
Pila Mulligan: and a place for people to visit whenever
Pila Mulligan: the number of poeple wanting to do each of those uses would tell us what is needed
stevenaia Michinaga: it would be interesting to see how many could travel how far and how often
Pila Mulligan: exactly :)
Pila Mulligan: and also possible residents
Pila Mulligan: yes
Pila Mulligan: like SL almost
Pila Mulligan: with airfare :)
Pila Mulligan: or astral porjection
stevenaia Michinaga: lol
Pila Mulligan: now i am making that here anyway
Pila Mulligan: making campsites that is
Pila Mulligan: so it is close to being real as a Hawaii location
Pila Mulligan: but Pema was interested in having more than just campsites, and I agree
Pila Mulligan: he calls them huts, for some reason :)
stevenaia Michinaga: yes, especially in a rain forest
Pila Mulligan: especially
stevenaia Michinaga: covered walkways
Pila Mulligan: yep
Pila Mulligan: close pavaillion top :)
stevenaia Michinaga: the details will build over time
Pila Mulligan: yep
Pila Mulligan: well, maybe I should get back to rl stuff now
stevenaia Michinaga: yes, the hour has passed
stevenaia Michinaga: I need to get back to work too
Sylectra Darwin: I wonder what it would cost to fly to Hawaii from the east coast of the US?
Pila Mulligan: its funny how the costs of travel changes, Sylectra -- I saw there are roundtrip fares to Hawaii now for under $500
Pila Mulligan: but the time factor stays pretty constant :)
Pila Mulligan: well, up up and away :)
stevenaia Michinaga: bye Pila
Pila Mulligan: aloha Steve and Sylectra
stevenaia Michinaga: time to claim you log sylectra
Sylectra Darwin: thanks, I already did
stevenaia Michinaga: :)
stevenaia Michinaga: let me know when you post it, I;ll send doug the link
stevenaia Michinaga: nighters